Separating Facts From Opinions

“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power to the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with them?”  Revelation 13:4

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the east made the long journey to worship Christ.  When they arrived in Jerusalem, they went to Herod to enquire the whereabouts of the Christ child.  Herod was clueless and so were most of the people of Jerusalem.  He called for the chief priests and scribes to find out about this Baby that had been born.  Fearing his own position as king over Jerusalem, he planned to have Jesus killed.  The chief priests and scribes referred to some Old Testament writings that had prophesied the birth of the Messiah and told Herod that the Baby would be in Bethlehem.  The point is here that no one in the political realm or in the community of ordinary folks had any idea about this Newcomer.

Those who are diligent Bible students know that Jesus will return as judge and king, but before that time, there will be an antichrist who will come on the scene.  He will receive the full attention of all those alive at that time.  He will convince folks that he is the true messiah, and people will fall for his lies.  In the beginning, he will seem to be very intelligent with all the answers for all the world’s problems.  How will folks be so gullible at that time to fall for his lies?  One basic reason that they will go along with him is that to shun the truth makes it a lot easier to accept lies and falsehoods.  It has been said that a lie is easier to believe if there is a little truth mixed in with it.  A lie is also easier to believe is it goes along with our own ideas about things.  The thought that always comes to my mind when I hear something that sounds too good to be true is “watch out”.

Jesus said in John 8:32, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”.  Those who deny truth are held in bondage to their sin.  To refuse to believe in Christ makes one vulnerable to Satan’s lies.  The Apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 4:4 that Satan blinds the minds of those who do not believe in Christ.  So, in one respect, it’s almost as if they can’t help being deceived, but, on the other hand, they have no one to blame but themselves.  Satan can neither make someone do something, regardless of Flip Wilson’s old adage, “the devil made me do it” nor can he keep someone from doing something.  Each person is responsible for how he or she responds to the gospel.

When we hear our political leaders speak, know that what most of them say are actually their opinions, which could be the truth, but maybe not.  One senator came out and said after the economic stimulus bill was passed that “only government can get us out of this problem (COVID-19).”  President Reagan said several years ago that “government is not the solution; government is the problem.”  Which one sounds closer to the truth?  It is true that many folks are in dire straits now, out of work, needing funds to pay their bills and buy their groceries, so some funds to tide them over for a short while was necessary.  But what happens if this thing drags on for months?  Will the politicians be truthful with us and tell us that if they keep supporting millions of people from week to week, there is going to be a tremendous cost to the entire nation.  Margaret Thatcher said that socialism works until you run out of other people’s money.  When the well is dried up, then what?  When people treat government as their god, it shows how easy it will be for the antichrist to take over.  People will fall for his lies and then be under his thumb.  Therefore, weigh everything that you hear carefully.  Don’t settle for what sounds good.  Look for the truth and go from there.